What type of interviewer are you?

Interviewing is an art! It is a self taught skill that you need to learn and master yourself.  There is no clear-cut course that teaches you how to be a good interviewer. An effective interviewer makes their candidate feel comfortable and relaxed to bring the best out of them in order to ascertain what skills they can bring to the table. They inspire the candidate to want to be part of their initiative and engage them in introspective discussions. They make the candidate contemplate on how they can improve themselves and their peers.

You can be more successful as an interviewer by being conscious as to whom you are interviewing. Before commencing the interview, first establish the role and the job you are interviewing the candidate for. Are you interviewing for a customer facing role or a product development role? Additionally, while interviewing, be aware of the type of person you are talking to. Are you talking to a fresh graduate or an industry veteran? Would the candidate be reporting to you or would he be joining the team as your peer? These are but few of the factors that you should consider before initiating the interview. By analyzing and deciding all of these factors, you can pick a candidate who is best suitable for your work style and the job at hand, and hopefully, a long-term contributor to your company.

Here are some crucial qualities that you can pick from as the interviewer:

• Assertive: If you are going to be their manager, establish the company’s hierarchy and accountability in a positive manner. Act like his manager and give the candidate a realistic glimpse on how you see them fitting in your company.

• Collaborative: If you are interviewing your peer, solve problems together with the candidate. Your interview should aim in not only finding out how suitable the candidate is for the job but also how good it is to work with him.

• Inquisitive: If you are interviewing your boss, talk about his vision and plans for the company and evaluate if he has the abilities to execute on them. Share your passion and commitment towards the job and find out if they are aligned with his.

Your evaluation on the candidate should depend on the interview session. If you were a tough interviewer, go easy on the evaluation. If you were collaborative and friendly, be tough on the evaluation. Finally, the choice is yours to pick a persona and conduct the interview accordingly.  Plan ahead – study the candidate, choose the appropriate persona, and provide a rounded, insightful evaluation on the candidate.